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| To amend section 101.15 and to enact section 101.16 | 1 |
| of the Revised Code to require publication of | 2 |
| legislative committee testimony on the General | 3 |
| Assembly's web site. | 4 |
| Section 1. That section 101.15 be amended and section 101.16 | 5 |
| of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows: | 6 |
| Sec. 101.15. (A) As used in this section and section 101.16 | 7 |
| of the Revised Code: | 8 |
| (1) "Caucus" means all of the members of either house of the | 9 |
| general assembly who are members of the same political party. | 10 |
| (2) "Committee" means any committee of either house of the | 11 |
| general assembly, a joint committee of both houses of the general | 12 |
| assembly, including a committee of conference, or a subcommittee | 13 |
| of any committee listed in division (A)(2) of this section. | 14 |
| (3) "Meeting" means any prearranged discussion of the public | 15 |
| business of a committee by a majority of its members. | 16 |
| (B) Except as otherwise provided in division (F) of this | 17 |
| section, all meetings of any committee are declared to be public | 18 |
| meetings open to the public at all times. The secretary assigned | 19 |
| to the chairperson of the committee shall prepare, file, and | 20 |
| maintain the minutes of every regular or special meeting of a | 21 |
| committee. The committee, at its next regular or special meeting, | 22 |
| shall approve the minutes prepared, filed, and maintained by the | 23 |
| secretary, or, if the minutes prepared, filed, and maintained by | 24 |
| the secretary require correction before their approval, the | 25 |
| committee shall correct and approve the minutes at the next | 26 |
| following regular or special meeting. The committee shall make the | 27 |
| minutes available for public inspection not later than seven days | 28 |
| after the meeting the minutes reflect or not later than the | 29 |
| committee's next regular or special meeting, whichever occurs | 30 |
| first. | 31 |
| (C) Each committee shall establish a reasonable method | 32 |
| whereby any person may determine the time and place of all | 33 |
| regularly scheduled meetings and the time, place, and purpose of | 34 |
| all special meetings. No committee shall hold a regular or special | 35 |
| meeting unless it gives at least twenty-four hours' advance notice | 36 |
| to the news media that have requested notification. | 37 |
| The method established by each committee shall provide that, | 38 |
| upon request and payment of a reasonable fee, any person may | 39 |
| obtain reasonable advance notification of all meetings at which | 40 |
| any specific type of public business will be discussed. Provisions | 41 |
| for advance notification may include, but are not limited to, | 42 |
| mailing the agenda of meetings to all subscribers on a mailing | 43 |
| list or mailing notices in self-addressed stamped envelopes | 44 |
| provided by the person who desires advance notification. | 45 |
| (D) Any action of a committee relating to a bill or | 46 |
| resolution, or any other formal action of a committee, is invalid | 47 |
| unless taken in an open meeting of the committee. Any action of a | 48 |
| committee relating to a bill or resolution, or any other formal | 49 |
| action of a committee, taken in an open meeting is invalid if it | 50 |
| results from deliberations in a meeting not open to the public. | 51 |
| (E)(1) Any person may bring an action to enforce this | 52 |
| section. An action under this division shall be brought within two | 53 |
| years after the date of the alleged violation or threatened | 54 |
| violation. Upon proof of a violation or threatened violation of | 55 |
| this section in an action brought by any person, the court of | 56 |
| common pleas shall issue an injunction to compel the members of | 57 |
| the committee to comply with its provisions. | 58 |
| (2)(a) If the court of common pleas issues an injunction | 59 |
| under division (E)(1) of this section, the court shall order the | 60 |
| committee that it enjoins to pay a civil forfeiture of five | 61 |
| hundred dollars to the party that sought the injunction and shall | 62 |
| award to that party all court costs and, subject to reduction as | 63 |
| described in this division, reasonable attorney's fees. The court, | 64 |
| in its discretion, may reduce an award of attorney's fees to the | 65 |
| party that sought the injunction or not award attorney's fees to | 66 |
| that party if the court determines both of the following: | 67 |
| (i) That, based on the ordinary application of statutory law | 68 |
| and case law as it existed at the time of the violation or | 69 |
| threatened violation that was the basis of the injunction, a | 70 |
| well-informed committee reasonably would believe that the | 71 |
| committee was not violating or threatening to violate this | 72 |
| section; | 73 |
| (ii) That a well-informed committee reasonably would believe | 74 |
| that the conduct or threatened conduct that was the basis of the | 75 |
| injunction would serve the public policy that underlies the | 76 |
| authority that is asserted as permitting that conduct or | 77 |
| threatened conduct. | 78 |
| (b) If the court of common pleas does not issue an injunction | 79 |
| under division (E)(1) of this section and the court determines at | 80 |
| that time that the bringing of the action was frivolous conduct as | 81 |
| defined in division (A) of section 2323.51 of the Revised Code, | 82 |
| the court shall award to the committee all court costs and | 83 |
| reasonable attorney's fees, as determined by the court. | 84 |
| (3) Irreparable harm and prejudice to the party that sought | 85 |
| the injunction shall be conclusively and irrebuttably presumed | 86 |
| upon proof of a violation or threatened violation of this section. | 87 |
| (4) A member of a committee who knowingly violates an | 88 |
| injunction issued under division (E)(1) of this section may be | 89 |
| removed from office by an action brought in the court of common | 90 |
| pleas for that purpose by the prosecuting attorney of Franklin | 91 |
| county or by the attorney general. | 92 |
| (5) The remedies described in divisions (E)(1) to (4) of this | 93 |
| section shall be the exclusive remedies for a violation of this | 94 |
| section. | 95 |
| (F) This section does not apply to or affect either of the | 96 |
| following: | 97 |
| (1) All meetings of the joint legislative ethics committee | 98 |
| created under section 101.34 of the Revised Code other than a | 99 |
| meeting that is held for any of the following purposes: | 100 |
| (a) To consider the adoption, amendment, or recission of any | 101 |
| rule that the joint legislative ethics committee is authorized to | 102 |
| adopt pursuant to division (B)(11) of section 101.34, division (E) | 103 |
| of section 101.78, division (B) of section 102.02, or division (E) | 104 |
| of section 121.68 of the Revised Code; | 105 |
| (b) To discuss and consider changes to any administrative | 106 |
| operation of the joint legislative ethics committee other than any | 107 |
| matter described in division (G) of section 121.22 of the Revised | 108 |
| Code; | 109 |
| (c) To discuss pending or proposed legislation. | 110 |
| (2) Meetings of a caucus. | 111 |
| (G) For purposes of division (F)(1)(a) of this section, an | 112 |
| advisory opinion, written opinion, or decision relative to a | 113 |
| complaint is not a rule. | 114 |
| Sec. 101.16. All written testimony submitted to a committee | 115 |
| shall be posted on the general assembly's web site not later than | 116 |
| ten business days after the day of the meeting for which the | 117 |
| testimony was submitted. The secretary assigned to the chairperson | 118 |
| of the committee shall submit the testimony to the clerk of the | 119 |
| senate or the clerk of the house of representatives, as | 120 |
| appropriate, or the clerk's designee, for upload not later than | 121 |
| five business days after the day of the meeting. | 122 |
| Section 2. That existing section 101.15 of the Revised Code | 123 |
| is hereby repealed. | 124 |